Whenever a company gets in touch about search marketing, we always ask for access to their Webmaster Tools.  Webmaster Tools is the ‘dashboard’ which enables you to check that your website is healthy from Google’s indexing point of view.

It highlights any indexing issues, such as sitemap submission, broken links or duplicate pages, which need to be fixed in order for your site to be properly indexed by Google.

So, Webmaster Tools is pretty important!

Unless we’re dealing with a digital marketing specialist in a large company, it’s not unusual for a client to be unfamiliar with Webmaster Tools.  It’s entirely understandable – even the name suggests that specialist technical knowledge is required.

It’s a problem which Google has now begun to recognise and address.  Earlier this month, Webmaster Tools itself was re-named Search Console.

The ‘dashboard’ itself is no different, it’s just that the new name makes it appear more accessible and relevant to anyone with a vested interest in ensuring their company website performs well and where your traffic come from (very useful).

When the new name was launched, Google’s own Webmaster Central blog, said:

“…the traditional idea of the “webmaster” reflects only some of you. We have all kinds of Webmaster Tools fans: hobbyists, small business owners, SEO experts, marketers, programmers, designers, app developers, and, of course, webmasters as well…So, to make sure that our product includes everyone who cares about Search, we’ve decided to rebrand Google Webmaster Tools as Google Search Console.”

We welcome the new name and hope that it helps more website owners to better understand their site’s performance.

If you haven’t already got access to Search Console for your website, it’s simple to set up – you can find some straight-forward instructions here.

We hope all is well when you review your site’s performance (your dashboard will highlight any issues which need to be addressed).  If there’s anything you don’t understand, or if Search Console is highlighting problems with your site which you’re not sure how to fix, please get in touch – we’ll be glad to help.